Crossplay: Microsoft wants to tear down platform boundaries

Common game between console (s) and the PC is now possible, but an absolute exception. Microsoft is now again promoting the concept of normality. The company is open to talks with industry sizes such as Valve and Nintendo, said Mike Ybarra, the vice president of the Xbox division.

Ybarra’s statements against VG247 are followed by similar remarks by Phil Spencer a few weeks ago. Microsoft continues to position itself in the pioneering role for “cross play”. Until now, the feature was reserved for individual games for Xbox One and Windows 10, such as Gears of War 4 (Test) and Forza Horizon 3 (Test). Also ARK: Survival Evolved and Rocket League can be played together on both platforms, Minecraft even puts players on smartphones, the PC, Xbox One and the Nintendo Switch together.

Players and developers

It’s more about giving players choice, more about keeping a brand on our platform longer, “said Ybarra. “I do not care where they play, I just want players to have fun playing, because that’s better for the industry.” A common pool for all online players meets the changing needs of developers and customers. In fact, some games have already had a surprising amount of time to find enough player numbers for smooth matchmaking. A prominent example of the recent past is Gearbox ‘Battleborn (Test).

We have it working internally, but currently Sony won’t allow it 🙁

— Jeremy Stieglitz (@arkjeremy) August 18, 2017

Correspondingly, Ybarra strongly supports crossplay features: “If any developer wants to lead this conversation …. Valve is down the road, Nintendo also”. Microsoft is “completely open to it”. Sony is not open: The company has so far rejected any suggestions by developers regarding the possibility of interactions across platform boundaries, mainly on the protection of minors.

According to official statement, Sony wants to ensure a controlled, child-resistant environment. Technically, cross play is not a big problem. The developers of ARK have already announced that their game in internal versions of all platforms including the PlayStation 4 can play together. Compared to GameReactor, Microsoft recently announced to talk with Sony about this feature and look forward to when the company opens its platform in this regard. The goal is “a community to unite gamers”. Successes have not yet emerged from these talks.